


It's Been A Long, Long Time

by mariuspunmercy



Series: The Princess Universe [8]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Arguing, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Background Relationships, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Making Up, POV Alternating, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:49:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariuspunmercy/pseuds/mariuspunmercy
Summary: Adora and Glimmer lost the people that mean the most to them.They were going to get them back, whatever it takes, and maybe save the world and go out for some milkshakes while they're at it.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Frosta & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: The Princess Universe [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1377166
Comments: 8
Kudos: 50





	It's Been A Long, Long Time

**Author's Note:**

> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3hXQDpWPsBP8yhHUvUAojs?si=UmRU2xhZTc2nl236ZtojSQ

Adora stared at herself in the mirror for a long minute.

She propped her arms up against the counter, the Princess Compound feeling unnatural. They had only been staying here for around twenty days, and while Castaspella might’ve given them full permission to stay here, something was still off. People were missing. 

Too many people were gone. 

They’d lost about half of the population and the people most important to them. She hadn’t heard from Bow, which broke her heart. They got seperated at the beginning of all this. While she had gone with Entrapta and Catra to go help Perfuma and Scorpia, he left before she even got word, having departed on a spaceship hours before Netossa contacted her. 

The only good thing to come out of this is having Netossa back. Spinnerella tried not to show just how happy she was, but they knew. They could see the bright smile on her face as Netossa walked in.  _ God,  _ Adora’s happy for her too! But she’d be lying if she said her chest wasn’t in agony as she watched them. 

One of the worst parts? Seeing how Mermista took all of this in. She hasn’t eaten, hasn’t spoken to anyone, hasn’t done… anything. No one blames her for what happened, but she herself won’t stop the doubt that goes through her.

Funny enough, Adora relates.

When Light Hope had made her way over to Perfuma and Scorpia, Adora had stayed down. She would’ve usually jumped in without any sort of plan, but for once, she didn’t run headfirst into a fight. What if that was the one time she actually needed to, and she hesitated for whatever reason? 

There can’t be any what ifs when it came to this. It’ll tear everybody apart. Hardly anyone is talking amongst themselves anyways. The only time they ever came together was during dinner, when they’d sit down and make a record of every Princess, legal or not, who had been dusted. 

It was a very long list.  _ Too long.  _ Longer than it should be. For being the heroes and all that, they didn’t do a good job at protecting each other. If they had, no one would be gone. They would be celebrating their victory over Light Hope, who would’ve come and gone. There’s no reason the devastation should be this great. 

Even the news had gotten wind of it. They talked on and on about what great protectors the Princesses are, seeing as they got half the world killed. Amazing sarcasm, really. Are they even allowed to say stuff like that? Who knows. It fucking sucks anyways. It’s not like they risked their lives and the lives of their loved ones. 

She really hates modern media.

Anyone can go out there and talk about them, but very few could actually go out there and risk themselves. Adora’s view of the government and news is already all screwed up because of the Etherian Accords. Not like these people are making it much better. If only they reported the full story. 

She slammed her fist into the counter, and the whole room shook. Adora clutched her hand to her chest, for a moment scared of herself. Then, she realized that it continued to shake even as she stopped moving.

Making her way out of the bathroom and past Mermista sitting on the table with her head down, she found Spinnerella and Netossa. They could feel the shaking too, all of them just as confused. A vase that was propped on a table fell over, shattering into pieces. They didn’t suit up or grab any sort of weapon, despite the possibility that this could very much be Light Hope.

The three of them ran outside of the building, landing in the yard. They watched as a glowing light landed a spacecraft, the light dimming into the shape of a person. They all walked forward as the landing gear deployed, the entry hatch opening.

Adora ran to help them when she noticed it was Bow and Glimmer, and they were leaning onto another person in the middle. She didn’t even know who to go to first. The person in the middle shrugged Glimmer off of them, pretty much handing the girl to her. “They need food and water.  _ Fast.”  _

Glimmer grabbed Adora’s shoulders to help herself stand. Adora opened her mouth to say something to her old friend that she hadn’t seen in months, a whole  _ year.  _ But Glimmer gripped her arm tightly, whispering, “I couldn’t stop her.”

Light Hope. Adora nodded. “Neither could I.”

She soaked in her old friend. Glimmer was as thin as a needle, her usually tidy hair nothing but a mess. She had a pair of jogging pants and a pink camisole on, probably from what she was doing before Light Hope attacked. Everything about her screamed,  _ For the past twenty days, I have not been okay.  _

“Adora..” Glimmer whispered. It was weird to hear her name in that familiar voice, but it was heartbreaking when she said it again. “Adora, I lost the kid.”

Adora stared blankly at her. “What kid?” The only kid she could think of is-

“The one from the airport.” Glimmer shoved her face into her hands before Adora took her wrists to force her to look up. Another blank stare as Glimmer shut her eyes, opening them again when she was ready to talk. “She took your sword. She was just fifteen, Adora.  _ Fifteen.” _

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

Compared to now, the airport fight was so insignificant. She’d gone against over a hundred countries and the government for Catra, and Glimmer brought a child to the fight. It seems when she gained Catra, Glimmer had gotten something out of it. Some _ one,  _ out of it. 

“We lost,” Glimmer stated. “She got dusted. I was stuck with Bow for over twenty days as we shared food and water between ourselves. We got lucky that Double Trouble doesn’t need to eat or we would’ve been dead. I should be dead. Too many people risked it for me. They got dusted, I-”

“Glimmer.” Adora grabbed onto her arm to steady the frantic girl before she tipped over. They started walking to the building, Adora supporting her dead weight. “I understand. Catra was… Catra... We’ve only got each other, now.” 

When she opened her mouth to ask about the light that had carried them down, Castaspella ran over to them. “Oh, Glimmer!” Her aunt exclaimed with tears in her eyes. 

Castaspella hugged her from the front, releasing her quickly to help Adora trudge her inside. They made for the living room area, where Netossa and Spinnerella were setting up I.V.'s for the two that needed it. They forgot to shut off the projection of their records of all the dusted, the smiling faces of their dead friends on display.

Huntara walked in, wearing a red and purple uniform with her white hair glowing. It wasn’t as bright as the light outside, but Adora was able to piece it together. “You have powers now?”

“Some shit went down after the Accords with the Moonstone, I won’t get into it,” Huntara shrugged. “I can like… fly and stuff now.”

Adora smiled at her. “That’s great.” Good, they would need it. She sat down next to Bow, who she hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to yet. Her best friend, who now sat practically lifeless in front of her. “Hey, Bow.”

He turned to her smiling, his positivity never fading. “Hey, Adora.”

Her heart twisted, but she plastered on a sad smile back to him. She wanted to ask him all of the questions, but Castaspella stared at the hologram displaying the dusted. “It’s been twenty days since Light Hope snapped and killed half the population,” the woman explained. 

“The government is in shambles,” Netossa said, looking at Bow before turning to Glimmer. “Everyone is trying to do their part to pretty much replace the ones that are gone. Fifty percent of  _ all  _ living things disappeared when Light Hope snapped. She did exactly what she wanted to do.”

The hologram in front of them switched to an image of Frost-Girl. They discovered her name was Frosta, which didn’t make for a conspicuous alter ego. Her blue eyes shone bright in the picture, even if the entire projection was blue. She had blue hair that went along with her look, with bangs that framed her face. She looked fifteen. She  _ was  _ fifteen. 

Glimmer stared at the image, clenching her fists and grinding her teeth. Adora saw out of the corner of her eye when she looked away, burying her face into her hands. She’d had twenty days to reflect over the death of someone she recruited. Someone, it seemed, who meant more to her then a regular superhero. 

“So where is she now!?” Glimmer shouted, looking around the table. “Where!?”

“We don’t know.” Adora stretched her hand across the table, trying to calm her down. They just got back. Glimmer can’t be having an episode when she still wasn’t healthy. “She used the Moonstone to teleport and she was just… gone.” 

She used their own Runestone against them. She had taken what was theirs, and it helped murder trillions. 

They hadn’t been able to do anything about it. 

They were as powerless then as they are now, sitting around a table with two half dead Princesses, an old S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that now has powers, and some lizard person they’ve never seen before. 

Glimmer opened her mouth to say something, but her eyes landed on Mermista in the kitchen. With their glass walls, they could see her perfectly as she grieved. “What’s wrong with her?” 

“She’s upset,” Castaspella pointed out, putting her hands on her niece’s shoulders. “She was the last one to talk to Light Hope before the snap. She thinks she failed.”

All of them had failed. Mermista isn’t the only one who’s mourning, but she’s the one showing it. Adora had never felt like a bigger failure. She thought it was bad when she literally died with her brother listening to her death in his ear. It got worse when she couldn’t bring Catra back from her brainwash. She thought the limit was losing most of her friends and becoming a fugitive.

Nothing compared to the heavy weight that was dragging them all down. 

“We’ve been hunting Light Hope when we got back from Mystacore.” Adora turned to Bow. He gave her a smile that looked like it hurt, but he pushed through it anyways. She breathed before continuing, “We’ve done deep space scans, satellite, everything we could think of. We’ve come up with nothing. Glimmer, you fought her-”

Glimmer didn’t let her keep going, instead finishing her sentence for her. “Okay, yeah. No. Who told you that?” 

They all looked at her in confusion. Did they not fight? Had they just been in the spaceship before the snap happened and they actually never fought Light Hope? No, because when Glimmer got off the ship, she said how they didn’t stop her. As surprised as she sounded, this had to be another iconic sarcasm moment from Iron Lady that they do  _ not  _ need right now. 

“I didn’t fight her,” she persisted, her words beginning to slur. “Light Hope literally destroyed a planet’s moon so it could wipe my face. And while that happened, fucking Grayskull gave away the Fractal Flake which he supposedly protected with his life. There was no fight. We got our asses kicked.” 

Adora realized her breathing had started to speed up. She needed to calm down.  _ Now.  _ “Glimmer-”

“She’s unbeatable! We can’t do anything.”

“Did she give you any clues as to where she might be?” It seemed doubtful, but she was saying anything to stop the incoming tantrum. “Coordinates? Anything?” 

“Why the fuck would she give me anything!? She took everything away from me! She took everything from all of us! She’s a part of Hordak’s plan, and he caused all of this! My parents? It’s her fault just as much as it is Hordak’s!”

Adora stood, getting out of her chair as Castaspella ran to grab a gurney. Talking about Angella and Micah might bring up the subject of Catra, and that was definitely not a conversation they needed to be having right now. It was the last thing they should talk about considering everyone’s state, and the fact that it might cause another argument. They had to get back on track, and concentrate on the real task at hand. 

She walked next to her chair, sitting on the edge of the table. “Glimmer, I’m going to need you to focus.”

“AND I NEEDED YOU!” Glimmer shouted, seething rage directed towards Adora. The girl’s eyes filled with tears. Hot, angry tears that pooled in her eyes but never dropped. “But that was the past,  _ Adora.  _ Or should I call you She-Ra? Are we on a first name basis anymore? I don’t care, anyways! You were too late, man! I don’t care about what you need! No, no. You know what I need?!” She stood, banging her knee against the table and making everyone jump. Her chair scraped back, making a loud noise as her unsteady legs supported her. “I need to cut my hair. Actually, I remember telling all of you-”

Glimmer started to reach for her, and Adora quickly got off the table. Castaspella left the gurney in the doorway, standing in between her niece and the soldier. “Glimmer, I-”

“Remember when I said we needed something that wasn’t just us to protect us!?” She swatted Castaspella’s hand off of her. “Remember how we got into a huge argument about it and it tore us apart!? Well, turns out I was right! If only you had just  _ listened to me-” _

Adora finally hit back. To her, the Accords weren't protection. It was a restriction. She needed her to understand that if they were truly going to have to band together again. “But it didn’t work out, did it?” 

The honest truth about the Accords: if they had agreed on it, they never would’ve split up. If they either all agreed not to sign or to go along with it, they would still be together. The split only happened because the team couldn't work together anymore. With Catra plastered on top of everything, there was never a chance to reconcile. But if the Accords had actually worked, they wouldn’t be all fucked up right now.

“Remember the portal?” Glimmer didn’t even hide her glance at Netossa, only moving when she turned her eyes back to Adora. “Remember how I told you that we’d lose? But then you told me that if we lost, we’d be doing it together? Guess what?  _ We lost.  _ But you weren’t there. Out of all the Princesses you took away, Bow was the only one with me when we lost! But that’s kind of our thing, right? We do the shit after everything is destroyed? Because we’re Princesses. And we can’t do what we’re supposed in order to prevent it, right?”

“Glimmer, you made your point,” Castaspella said sweetly. “It’s time to sit down.” 

“Wait, no. You wanna know my point?” Glimmer scoffed, pointing at Huntara. Huntara leaned against a wall, arms crossed and observing. The last time she saw them, the Princesses were not this much of a mess. 

Castaspella must’ve been scared of Glimmer offending anyone that wasn’t Adora because she tried leading her to the gurney. “You’re  _ sick,  _ c’mon.”

“You worked with my mom, but I barely even knew you,” Glimmer continued, waving her finger at Huntara. “Sorry about giving you powers. That’s my fault. You shouldn’t be with this wreck of a team. You’re  _ really  _ cool, though. You’re great! I like you, by the way!” 

Adora rolled the gurney from the door to where the struggling Castaspella stood with her niece, and Glimmer furrowed her eyes when Huntara pushed away from the wall. “Wait, wait! No, don’t go. We need you! You’re new blood, new powers. Sorry you got stuck with a bunch of old mules. That girl is literally over a hundred years old!” 

She suppressed the urge to growl. Her age and the past was a thing she only wanted to talk about with Catra. It pissed her off that it was basically mocking her right now. Sick or not, it was still an insult that opened a fresh wound. 

Glimmer managed to get out of her aunt’s arms, walking up to Adora with fire blazing in her eyes. “I got nothing for you,  _ She-Ra.”  _ She lowered her voice to a venomous whisper, everyone in the room craning their necks to hear. 

It was as if they were in a cage at a zoo, a lion and a tiger, and the spectators were watching to see which one would bite the other first. They stared at each other, nothing but fury in the air between them. 

“I don’t have any clues or coordinates. I didn’t get any hints so we can find Light Hope and get whatever’s left of the Princesses killed. Sorry, Adora. I have  _ nothing  _ for you. Not even trust,  _ liar.” _

Gone was the hushed whispers as Glimmer got off a spaceship. Now, she dragged her I.V. behind her, going around and yelling at Adora. The vulnerability displayed earlier was pushed aside for a rage so pure that everyone in the room stopped to watch it. The words dug deep into her heart, creating a Glimmer sized hole. 

But suddenly she stumbled, and Adora grabbed her arm to hold her upright. Everyone tried to gather around as she exclaimed, “Glimmer!”

“I’m fine!” Then she passed out in her arms.

Adora sighed, heaving Glimmer onto the gurney. Netossa, the only one with some sort of medical knowledge, rolled the cart away, Castaspella following behind. They were heading to the infirmary, she guessed, though they may leave her there alone as the rest of them tried to come up with some sort of plan. 

“Alright!” Huntara clapped her hands together, stealing everyone’s attention. “She’ll probably be knocked out for the rest of the day. I’ll bring a card when I get back.”

“I gave her a sedative, she’ll be up by tomorrow. ” Netossa announced when she walked back in. They did not, in fact, take Glimmer to the infirmary. They instead left her in the middle of the kitchen next to Mermista, where they could still keep an eye on her. Smart. “But where are you going?”

Huntara didn’t look at anyone as she turned around, starting to walk out of the room. “To kill Light Hope.”

She made quick eye contact with Bow, who seemed to be dozing off himself, before following behind her with Spinnerella at her heels. 

“I swear, we’re usually a team and we work as one,” Spinnerella said, stopping in front of Huntara to pause their walking. “Morale is a bit off, but this is our fight too.”

“We don’t even know where she’s at,” Bow pointed out. 

“I know people who might.”

“Yeah, I’m people.” Double Trouble, the lizard that had come off the ship with Bow and Glimmer, stood from their seat. They’d been quiet during Glimmer’s show, just now speaking up. “She always talked about her ‘Great Plan’ to me and my sister. She said when she finished her mission, she wanted to go to ‘The Garden’.”

“How cute,” Castaspella rolled her eyes, walking in after checking on Glimmer. “Light Hope has a retirement plan.”

“So where is she?” Adora asked. Kind of seemed like the obvious question here. 

“The Crystal Castle,” Double Trouble announced. 

Adora nodded. “We owe it to everyone who isn’t in this room to get the Runestones and bring everyone back.” She hid her hope. She might be getting Catra back already. “It’ll be different this time around. We’re more prepared-”

“And short handed,” Netossa argued. 

“Yeah, but now you have me,” Huntara shot back. 

Mermista’s chair made a loud noise as she pushed it back. She walked from the kitchen to the living area, where they all stood. She lightly pushed Adora aside to stand in front of Huntara. They all held their breath. This time, it was a lion and a lion in a cage. Both powerful and hungry, so willing to not hesitate if it came down to bit harder.

A trident flew across the room, missing Huntara by inches as Mermista caught it in her hand. Huntara didn’t even flinch, instead smiling after a moment passed. Mermista smiled back; the first one they’d seen in twenty days. “I like her.”

“Netossa, you stay with Bow and Glimmer,” Adora ordered, embracing her leadership once again. “You can’t transform, and they’re going to need you.”

She didn’t protest. Instead, she nodded, and helped Bow out of his seat so they could move to the medbay. Good, at least someone wasn’t being as difficult. The remaining stood by each other, not saying a word as they went to grab their suits.

Her new She-Ra bodysuit felt odd. The top half was white, with her own emblem in the center. The bottom was red, reminiscent of her old cape. She ditched the crown, and armed herself with the twin swords that Lonnie had given her back on Mystacore. Her hands still had a hint of grey ashes, and Adora nearly lost it then and there. They were going to get everyone back. It’s fine. They’re going to be okay. 

Bow smiled at her when she walked out of her room. She forgot that she was right next to the medbay. She made her way over to him, embracing him in a quick hug. She was going to bring back what he lost. She was doing this for them. It didn’t matter that Light Hope actually sparked some fear in her. They had a mission. 

“It’s going to work, Adora,” Bow told her, patting her back. 

“I know it will.” Adora untangled herself from the hug. “Because I don’t know what I’m going to do if it doesn’t.” 

*

Adora watched from the steps of the Princess Compound as Glimmer’s car sped to the entrance.

The car went a little too far, and it reversed until it was right in front of her. She rolled down the window, taking off her sunglasses and gesturing to the passenger seat. “Get in. We’ve got a conversation that’s been on hold for too long.”

She almost laughed. After they killed Light Hope but failed to bring everyone back, as soon as she was able to, Glimmer got up and stormed out of the building. She disappeared for a month. She came back a couple of days ago as they were testing time travel (courtesy of Sea Hawk finding them).

Again, she disappeared. The rest of them panicked, but were determined not to give up just because they lost the smartest person on the team. Sea Hawk, along with Spinnerella and Netossa, tried to make the time travel machine anyways. It didn’t work. Sea Hawk turned into a baby, but that wasn’t the mess at hand. 

So, Adora rounded the car, gripping the handle and opening the door. She slid into the leather seat, finding herself next to Glimmer. In all their years of friendship before the fight, she’d never sat in the car. Her heart fluttered as she took in the interior, and she pretended not to notice the snowflake keychain dangling from the rear view mirror. 

“What’s with the long face?” Glimmer asked, turning to her. “Let me guess. You turned Sea Hawk into a baby.”

“He was an old man first, among other things,” Adora remarked. A beat of silence washed over, and Adora shifted until they were facing each other. “Where were you? What are you doing here now?” 

Classic Glimmer came back as she looked away for a second before rolling her eyes playfully. “It’s a paradox, smart ones. Instead of pushing Sea Hawk through time, you pushed time through him. Time travel is difficult. Dangerous. Someone should’ve waited until I got back.”

“We didn’t know if you were coming back. So, where did you go?”

She held up her right hand, holding a device that Adora hadn’t noticed earlier. It was a silver band, with an intricate blue light in the middle. “This is a time travel GPS, if you will. I’ve spent the past days making this I wanted to do something helpful that wasn’t yelling. My aunt didn’t appreciate it. Turns out, resentment is corrosive.”

Adora’s mind automatically went to the Accords mess, which naturally brought on Angella and Micah. In that case, it included Catra too. That was still a talk that needed to happen, and it seemed there was no better time for it than now. 

“Glimmer, you have to understand why I did what I did,” Adora started. Glimmer’s expression didn’t change, remaining like stone. This could either go down smoothly and they’d be alright, or things were going to get messy. “If that were you in Catra’s position, I would’ve protected you too. It wasn’t about choosing between you or her. It was my morals, and the Accords went against everything I fought for.”

Glimmer didn’t say anything, so Adora continued. “Catra told me about your parents a day earlier. I didn’t know before then. I never meant to keep it a secret. We thought it was the worst time to bring it up because it’d be signing her death warrant. Shadow Weaver manipulated all of us. We should’ve stuck together and fought together instead of each other. I walked around the compound after the snap and I realized you made a home for all of us when half of us aren’t even there. It wasn’t worth it. I won’t change my mind about the Accords, or what I did to protect Catra. I just regret that we let it tear ourselves apart.” 

She stayed silent, letting Glimmer take everything in. She meant it, too. If Glimmer was the one who needed protection from the law, she would’ve done it. This was once her closest friend. Now, the past two times they’ve been around each other, some kind of argument has come out of it. 

It’s not worth it. She needs her friend back. 

“Your heart always belonged to her,” Glimmer chuckled. “It’s funny, because I never knew how much Catra meant to you until you nearly killed me for her... I started the fight too, which is the funny part… I know seeing her again after everything must’ve been hard. Especially because you thought she was dead. You fought her, and I know I wouldn’t have the strength to do that. But I also don’t think I was in the wrong for reacting the way I did. I mean, I  _ just  _ found out who killed my parents. While we maybe could’ve had a more civilized conversation that didn’t include punching each other’s faces in, you really can’t blame me for getting as angry as I did.”

And she’s right. In the heat of the moment, Adora hadn’t taken a moment to see things from Glimmer’s point of view. She had just lost her mom a month prior, then found out her friend was fighting alongside the person who killed both of her parents. On top of that, said friend knew about it and decided to keep it a secret. 

“I guess we both fucked up pretty bad,” Adora chuckled. “All I got out of this was a cool girlfriend, which, if I do say so myself, is still pretty awesome. But running around trying to dodge the law… It’s been hard, Glim. I got back something I lost while losing almost everything else. While I’d do it a thousand times over for Catra, I just wish we somehow could’ve stayed a team. When the world needed Iron Lady and She-Ra, we couldn’t give it to them.”

Glimmer bit her lip, obviously contemplating her next words carefully. “I haven’t seen Catra around. Was she…?”

The question hung in the air. Adora tried to tell her when she got off the spaceship, but she’s sure Glimmer doesn’t even have her memory from that. So, she nodded, letting her eyes drift to the dangling snowflake. “Yeah. She got snapped away. I was holding her when she did. My suit still has some of the ashes.”

“Ah, the new suit,” Glimmer teased. “I saw it. Looks good on you.” There was a pause as the mood shifted quickly. “I held her when she got dusted too.” A beat. “Frosta, I mean. Not Catra. That would be weird… But she was begging me to help her. She wanted me to stop it and I didn’t know how. So, I was gone for a month trying to figure out how and I made no progress. I came to you guys to see if you had anything. I left again to figure out time travel because I  _ will  _ bring her back.”

“We’ll bring them all back.”

“I really am sorry, Adora.” Glimmer’s eyes shined with truth. “I wish I had called you earlier, but I was desperate to prove to the world that I didn’t need you. That shouldn’t have gotten in the way. I’m sorry.”

She let it sink in before responding. “I’m just as sorry. I probably didn’t have to go against a hundred countries and become a war criminal for me to protect Catra. If I had come to you in the first place, we could’ve come up with something instead of arguing every time we talked.”

Silence took over again. She observed the fancy car for what it was. The leather seats, the cherry air freshener sitting in the cup holder, the snowflake, and something shiny in the backseat that caught her eye.

“What’s that?” Adora asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. 

“Oh,  _ that.”  _ Glimmer unbuckled her seatbelt, stretching across the console to reach into the back. Her white flannel rode up her waist, her pink top underneath exposed. If they were to start time traveling right now, it wouldn’t be optimal wear. 

Glimmer held up the She-Ra sword, the blue blade shining in the car. The golden hilt seemed freshly polished, with the aqua stone in the middle practically jumping out at her. She saw her reflection in the blade. Her hair was a mess, seeing as she finally decided not to put it in a ponytail. She had bags under her eyes from not sleeping, trying to help perfect the time travel. 

It was like seeing an old friend. 

She left the sword behind for Catra, and now she was getting it back. She hesitated in grabbing it, leaning back against the headrest. Glimmer continued to hold it out for her, waiting for any type of movement. She couldn’t bring herself to take it back. It had been a year. Would she even know how to hold it anymore? Would-

“Here, take it.” Instead of waiting for an answer, Glimmer turned the sword with her wrist, holding the hilt out for her. “He made it for you. I’m tired of having it in my garage, anyways.”

Micah flashed into her mind for a second before she pushed it back. With shaky hands, Adora accepted the sword, the familiar feeling of the cool, golden hilt fitting perfectly in her hand. It was made for her. 

“Thank you, Glimmer..” Adora whispered, staring at the sword. It’d been so long. 

“Keep it quiet though, okay?” Glimmer smiled as if this wasn’t one of Adora’s most prized possessions. “I didn’t bring something back for everyone. If Mermista asks for a new trident, don’t look at me.”

She laughed at that. Mermista was doing better, which is one of the best things to come out of their new plan. Ever since they’ve all regained hope, she’s been the one to volunteer to use the stones and bring everyone back. She felt she was getting a chance to redeem herself. She no longer sulked and stayed at the table all day. She talked to them, eager to undo what Light Hope had done. 

“We’re bringing them back,” Adora mumbled. She got her sword back, her friends have returned, they have a plan. They had everything ready. They were prepared this time. Things would be better. 

“She took half the universe.”

Adora looked at Glimmer sideways. “I know. She took the entirety of mine.”

Frosta was the kingpin that held Glimmer together.

Just like Catra was Adora’s.

“We’re going to get them back.”

“I know. I just wish I hadn’t lost her in the first place.”

As they stared out the windshield, all they could do was hope that this plan was enough to bring back what they lost without losing what they gained. 

*

Glimmer looked around frantically through the battle.

When Mermista brought everyone back with her snap and said she could see Light Hope’s army coming for them, she was  _ not  _ kidding. It almost seemed like more people than there were the first time around. That could be because Glimmer wasn’t in Mystacore when the main fight took place, but still. This just seems like way more.

So, she searched like a lion looking for its prey, scanning every inch of the battlefield for someone in specific. When everyone had showed up, she noticed Adora doing the same thing, browsing every face she saw for Catra. Of course, in that moment, neither of them had the chance to stop and reunite with anyone. 

While she fought, Glimmer stopped hesitating. She tore through soldier after soldier, alien after alien in hopes of ending this fight sooner. She didn’t do it half assed in the process. If anything, she fought harder and stronger. 

She needed to make sure Frosta was here. That there weren't any complications that prevented the girl from being here or getting stuck in the Heart Blossom. The last thing they needed was for one or two people to not have come back. 

Double Trouble took a lot of things hard. They knew their sister wasn’t coming back, despite the snap. Then they had to go and see Flutterina when she was still evil, and Double Trouble was hardly able to convince her to join them. 

At some point, before Grayskull opened the portals and got everyone to join the fight, Adora had stood before Light Hope’s  _ entire  _ army with a broken shield that they’d stolen from Micah in the sixties (long story) and her sword, all alone. Some things never change. 

Then Entrapta flew next to her. Lonnie came out of a portal next. Sweet Bee, Peekablue, Sweet Bee, all of the people came out. Perfuma had power surging off of her already. Glimmer swore she saw Catra, but she couldn’t be too sure. But because Frosta was so much smaller and shorter, no one saw if she came through a portal. 

Sea Hawk helped her up, and Glimmer joined the fight with Castaspella, Netossa, Spinnerella, Bow, Double Trouble, Huntara, and Mermista. Adora led them, naturally. All that’s left to do at this point is fight until Light Hope is defeated, and they’ll be fine to celebrate and finally  _ reunite  _ after two long months.

Two months. A week was all it took to tear apart the Princesses. A month was what it took to get them back together. Another month was spent in a frenzy to come up with a plan. Three days of time traveling was enough to get the Runestones and bring everyone back. And twenty minutes of combat so far hasn’t been enough to end this battle. Time likes to pick and choose when it’s in their favor.

Through their coms that were reserved for the ten that weren’t snapped, she heard Adora say, “Hey, Snows. You have got to get somewhere else.”

Glimmer’s heart pounded as she fired at an alien with her suit gauntlet. She couldn’t hear any response from whoever Adora was talking to, but she still responded with, “No, yeah. I know, I know. We’ve made up, things are fine. But- AGH!” She growled in frustration, pausing for a beat. “Glimmer, where are you?”

“What’s up, Princess?” Glimmer responded. She guessed who was on the other side of the line, and she hoped she was right.

“Find Sea Hawk, I’m near him. Come get your kid.” Before Glimmer could respond, Adora cut off the line. 

Glimmer sprinted, shooting enemies as she passed. She caught Entrapta flying, holding Catra in her arms as the girl shot at different aliens. She’d have to remind Adora to come back here. But she ran faster than she think she’s ever ran before, eyes peeled open for Sea Hawk, who detransformed from Big Hawk (he dubbed himself) into regular Sea Hawk.

It was a little harder to spot, and she never even found Sea Hawk, but she saw Adora’s bright sword a couple of yards from her, the white of her suit practically painted black with dirt and red from- yeah, no. Nevermind. 

Next to Adora, a familiar blue and white uniform came into view, shards of ice and flurries of blinding snow attacking the opponents as the snowflake emblem on her chest shone from the reflection of the sword. 

Adora nodded at her when Glimmer approached. “I’ll leave you to it.” She tipped an imaginary hat (because she’s a fucking dork), leaping away from them and charging at the next adversary and striking them down. 

Glimmer retracted her face plate as Frosta took her mask off, the blue hair she saw in the hologram of dead heroes two months ago now standing in front of her. She couldn’t even speak, only staring at the girl that had disintegrated in her arms doing what she does best: kicking ass for the people who can’t.

“Ms. Fukuhara, you will  _ not  _ believe it!” Frosta's smile reached her eyes, and Glimmer found herself matching the expression. “You remember being in space, right? Of course you do. Well, anyways, I got all dusty and I passed out. I know you remember that. But then Grayskull woke me up, and he told me that you guys needed us. Then-”

“He did?” Glimmer laughed. She was reminded of wanting to cut his head off for giving up the Fractal Flake. Now, he was there for them when they needed him. If he had missed her when he was gathering everyone together, she doesn’t know what she would’ve done. “That’s amazing. It really is.” 

Glimmer stepped forward with her arms out, but she barely caught a glimpse at Frosta’s (hilarious) confused expression before wrapping her arms around Frosta’s shoulders, embracing the girl in a long overdue hug. 

It was nothing like the one they shared in a flurry of panic and tears, with death right in front of them. Instead, Glimmer clung to Frosta like a lifeline, her eyes watering just because she knew she’d succeeded. She’d given herself a mission of bringing this girl back, and she had done it against all odds. 

There was no begging for someone to save them. Glimmer closed her eyes, Frosta’s hands clutching at the metal of the Iron Lady suit. Light Hope had tried her best to break them, but this was one thing no one could take away. If they could, they would stay here and let the battle happen around them. 

“This is nice,” Frosta mumbled, trying to stifle her sniffles. 

“I’m crying too, kid. No need to hide it,” Glimmer chuckled through her wet cheeks. They both laughed, untangling from the hug to get a good look at each other. The first proper one in two months. The first proper hug in two months. Two months was too long. 

“Can we go kick Light Hope’s ass now?” Frosta said, wiping her eyes.

_ “Language,  _ kid.” Glimmer left her faceplate down as they got prepared to go back into the fight. “I’ll buy you a cheeseburger with She-Ra when this is all done. C’mon, let’s go.”

Glimmer led Frosta as they returned to action, more determined now that they’ve got plans for the future. 

The whole world could have been on fire and it wouldn’t have mattered. Glimmer's no longer was. Everything that really mattered was here, and whole, and breathing again. 

On the flip side, Adora  _ was  _ doing good until she encountered Octavian, one of Light Hope’s Generals. 

When they fought the big green thing the first time around while protecting Scorpia and Perfuma, she didn’t remember getting her ass kicked this hard. Then again, her sword is about to snap in half and she’s only got a broken shield to defend herself with. 

Last time, she also had the help of Entrapta, Bow, and Catra, neither of which were able to help her. Adora had only seen Entrapta and Bow when the portals opened. How convenient that the one person she couldn’t find was the one she was most desperate to see. 

Octavia wrapped her huge hand around Adora’s neck, lifting her up before slamming her into the ground. Her vision swam, and stars danced everywhere. Everything had turned blurry, and now she could hardly even see her enemy anymore. 

“Look at She-Ra now!” Octavia growled, holding her down. “The great She-Ra, who is supposed to be this amazing defender. She can’t even get out of my grip!”

Adora pounded at the alien’s fist as her airway screamed at her.  _ I know,  _ she wanted to yell at her throat.  _ I know I can’t breathe. I’d appreciate it if you stopped reminding me! Especially with painful reminders! Just use a sticky note next time. _

“Aren’t you supposed to be one of the strongest people of all time?” Octavia tightened her hand. 

When Adora tried to reply, disgusting choked noises came out of her. It wasn’t like she could talk, with a meaty hand around her neck. The last time she fought an opponent like this, it was Catra’s metal arm cold against her throat. She was able to be swayed by a couple of words. 

This one couldn’t. 

She hit her head against the ground, turning on the private coms. Her choked out noises came out more and more, and she hoped someone got the clue. Her arms bulged as she grabbed onto Octavia’s wrist, trying to lift it off of her but unable to. What made these aliens so much stronger? 

Octavia lowered her body, hovering over Adora to taunt her. Her face was too close, the air around her becoming hot with danger. She got weaker and weaker as time went on, her body barely able to keep up with her. Her pounding against Octavia’s wrist slipped into nothing. Her consciousness came and went, her vision becoming more and more white the longer they stayed like this.

“What are you doing here!? Go get her! She needs help!” Someone yelled into her ear. The coms. Ha, she forgot about that. But as Octavia tightened her grip even  _ more,  _ Adora was sure she’d be dead by the time someone came to find her.

Her sword and shield slipped out of her hands. She lifted both hands against Octavia’s hand, but her pushing wasn’t nearly enough to free herself. She wasn’t able to make noise anymore, breathy sighs coming out that she could barely hear.

_ “Let go of her!” _

Someone’s foot knocked into Octavia’s head, releasing Adora from captivity. She rolled onto her hands and knees, taking in the sweet air. She coughed, her fingers ghosting on her throat. She was sure she’d have a hand shaped bruise there, the same way she had scratch marks down her back. 

“Adora! Adora!” Someone crouched in front of her. She looked up to see who it was, and-

“Hey, Catra,” Adora mumbled, trying to regain some of her breath. When she was able to fully focus on the world around her as oxygen filled her lungs again, it finally dawned on her who it was. She sat up on her knees and Catra cradled her face, her fingers moving slowly over her jaw. “Catra!”

Catra made the first move, leaning in to press her lips to Adora’s. Despite being on the ground and people fighting all around them, they savored the moment for what it was. Adora rested her hand on the back of Catra’s neck, the other moving to hold her wrist that was cradling Adora’s face.

Adora pulled away, and they rested their foreheads against each other. “The longest I’ve gone without you disappearing on me was a year.”

“What, so that time before we went to go fight a war doesn’t count?” Catra laughed, swiping at her eyes. “I’m hurt, Adora. I thought it meant something to you.”   


“Oh, shut up.” She lightly knocked her girlfriend over the head. “You know I suffered from pining for too long.”

“Yeah, and then I beat the shit out of you later.”

“That was the third time you left me, I believe?” Adora pretended to think, but she could name every instance where this happened all too clearly. Four times. Four times they’ve lost each other, but four times they’ve reunited.

“Was it before or after you almost let me kill you?”

“I think that speaks for itself.”

No sound was heard except for the laughter between the two girls. No words were needed. The world has treated them cruelly all their lives. Unforgiving in their coming together, undoing them every time they were happy. But it never mattered what happened. They’ve found their way back more times than most people could handle. 

And now they were fighting another battle. Another battle that could cost their lives. 

_ No.  _

Adora refuses to die in front of Catra. She refuses to let Catra die in front of her. If she could help it, no one would die. And goddamnit, that means no one is dying. The snap might’ve torn them apart, but they were able to come back together in a way that’s different from any other time.

“You know, Glimmer was screaming at me to come get you,” Catra said knowingly. “I’m guessing everything is okay now?”   


Adora nodded as Sea Hawk flew across the battlefield, Bow chasing after him. She sighed. This was nowhere to stay and have their reunion. But she couldn’t bring herself to stand up. All the fighting, being She-Ra, losing the people she’s closest with… It’s slowly becoming overwhelming.  _ More  _ so than before.

“You know, I thought all of this was going to be over when we went into hiding,” Adora remarked. “That Rogelio would give us a new apartment every time we needed to move, and we’d be smooth sailing from there.”

“You always have to jump back into the fight, don’t you?” Catra whispered, letting one of her hands caress Adora’s cheek. She leaned into the touch, her eyes slipping closed for a moment. She was still a little woozy from the lack of oxygen, her airway in pain whenever she took a breath that was too deep. “Oh, no. No, keep those eyes open.”

She widened her eyes, grabbing her sword and shield that had slipped out of her hands. A soft sob escaped her mouth, and she doesn’t even know where it came from. She covered her mouth with the hand holding her sword, the reflection from the blade showing her how terrible she looked.

“Hey, hey, what happened?” Catra rested a hand on her knee. They watched as Mermista drove her trident into someone’s chest. Spinnerella created wind around her, sending enemies flying all over the place. 

Her arms wrapped around Catra, drying her tears into her neck. She’s fought this hard, been doing this for so long, and they’ve never been allowed to take a break. This is the closest they’ve ever been to taking a pause on a fight. 

But in this moment, with Catra’s arms around her, the world has vanished. The battle is far, but Catra is right here. They’d failed the first time around to defeat Light Hope, but she knows they wouldn’t lose again. They fought to bring everyone back, and they’d be fighting even harder to make sure they stay here. 

Adora chuckled, sniffing the whiff of burnt hair and all around unpleasantness from Catra. She pulled away to look at her, wiping her watery eyes to no avail. It did nothing, and even started laughing when Catra had started crying with her. God, they were a mess when apart but an even bigger one when they came together again. 

“It really takes me sixteen words to turn into the Horde Soldier, but one second for you to lose your shit?” Catra joked, swiping furiously at the tears that fell. “Then you have the audacity to make me lose mine? What are you playing at?” 

Adora giggled with her. “Well, next time when I ask you to stop dying, or at least leaving, please listen.”

“It’s not like I’m dying for my country again!” Catra exclaimed, her metal arm shining like a pearl in the dull light of the battle. “It’s always about saving your dumb ass.”

“Language!” She childed, though she didn’t mean it at all. “Besides, I literally looked at you one time and you pulled a switchblade on me.”   


“I was being mind controlled!”

“Mhm,  _ sure.  _ I want to see you keep that same energy when all you have on your side is an archer and a crazy inventor with wings.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t even complain! Bow’s great, and Entrapta makes good orange juice.”

“Adora, I’m really sorry…” Glimmer’s voice rang in her ears through the coms. “I’ve located Light Hope. It’s time for the plan.” 

The plan they had discussed in case Mermista couldn’t get to Light Hope and kill her again. The plan was a good one, but it could potentially have bad results. The kind of results they didn’t want after they had come all this way. Glimmer sounded just as broken up about it as Adora felt. Her heart leapt out of her chest and onto her sword, piercing it now before she had to go to the inevitable. 

“What happened?” Catra asked, noticing her expression change.

“I gotta go.” Adora stood, her knees wobbling slightly. She helped Catra up, holding her sword and shield with a death grip. “I am so sorry.”

Catra understood that protesting would make this harder. She nodded, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. “I love you, Adora.”

Adora smiled weakly. “I love you too.”

Before she could step forward and walk over to Glimmer, who she could see in the distance, Catra grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a kiss. They lingered for a second before pulling back. She was going to come back to this. She refused to let anything else happen.

Without saying another word, Adora stalked forward until she was side by side with Glimmer. She had her faceplate down, pointing to Mermista unconscious by Light Hope’s feet. She wasn’t dead, because they could see a steady rising of her chest. But it still wasn’t good news. 

“This has to end,” Glimmer said.

Adora turned back, but Catra wasn’t there. It wasn’t the end of the line for them. It couldn’t be. “Let’s end it.” 

Glimmer didn’t put her faceplate back up, instead charging without hesitating toward Light Hope. She saw the gauntlet about to close on another snap, but Adora threw her sword to prevent the next snap, the hilt getting caught in a mess of hands. Light Hope closed her fist around the sword, the blade making a loud noise as it broke in half.

“NO!” Adora shouted. She had just gotten it back… She charged faster than she thinks she ever has, jumping high in the air before bringing her feet down onto Light Hope’s head. The villain grunted as one of Glimmer’s charges from her suit hit her square in the face.

The Iron Lady suit deployed its own gauntlet. It was the same one Mermista had used to bring everyone back, and it was their only hope in ending this battle  _ now.  _ They locked eyes, and they knew what they had to do. She just hoped they were strong enough to make it through this. 

“You weaklings are  _ nothing!”  _ Light Hope shouted, using the Moonstone to teleport Huntara (who was running toward them) away. The one other person who could withstand the power of all the Runestones, and Light Hope knew it. She threw a swing at Adora, bonking her over the head. She bit her tongue, among other injuries that made her bleed in her mouth.

Spitting out blood at Light Hope’s feet, she looked up to see Glimmer wrestling with the gauntlet currently holding the Runestones. She had already transferred the Fractal Flake to her own gauntlet, and was working on dislodging the others.

Adora glanced at her broken sword. She got up again, blindly reaching up to Light Hope and scratched her face. She may not have retractable claws, but it was enough to cause a brief distraction. Her hand wrapped around the Black Garnet, her heart heavy for Scorpia. She placed it in Glimmer’s gauntlet, watching her friend grind her teeth as more and more power was added onto her hand.

This wasn’t meant for humans. But they had to do whatever it takes to defeat Light Hope. Adora surged upward and landed on Light Hope’s shoulders, squeezing her thighs around her head for suffocation. A neat trick she learned from both Catra and Bow. When the gauntlet came up to attack her, she grabbed the Moonstone: the last Runestone.

She got thrown off her shoulders and tossed onto the floor. She knew she had cuts and scrapes everywhere, rocks from the ground digging into her side. She hissed, but brought herself to a standing position to fight alongside Glimmer.

“Together?” Glimmer whispered, holding out her gauntlet.

“Together.” Adora interlocked her fingers with Glimmer.

The sheer power from the Runestones were enough to make her knees wobble. She stood strong through the pain, casting one last glance at her broken sword. They made eye contact with Light Hope’s wide eyes, and she stomped on the sword in a fit of rage. It shattered into pieces. There was no returning or fixing this time around. 

They were in the endgame now. 

“You cannot stop the inevitable!” Light Hope shouted, sitting down on the ground. She accepted it. But she was also confident this was going to kill them. 

“But we’re Iron Lady and She-Ra,” Adora responded with her cracked lips. It came out as a half hearted laugh, her words secretly laced with anguish.

Oh, how she wishes she had more time. She doesn’t exactly know what would happen since the effort was shared, but she knew it wouldn’t be pretty. No, she wouldn’t die. Too many people had died in her life. She wasn’t going to become the next person, and damn it if she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life with Catra. 

Glimmer raised their interlocked hands, a breathy sigh coming from her before she snapped away Light Hope’s army.

The universe shook on its axis. Whole ships fluttered away into grey dust. The woman who had once yelled  _ liar, betrayal, and untrustworthy  _ at her was now standing beside her, watching as seams fell apart all around the battlefield as they shared this moment together. There was an unbearable pain rippling through her body. They didn’t know what was going to happen in a moment’s time, but she had to admit she was scared to find out.

Light Hope was the last to go, watching the army she had been accumulating over the years (kinda, considering this is time travel Light Hope) disintegrate into ash. It felt right to make her watch as everything she loved faded into nothingness. She eventually closed her eyes as she turned into graceful ash, floating away in the wind.

Adora fell to her knees, Glimmer collapsing into her lap. 

A familiar voice yelled for them, and it wrapped around her like a blanket as the world around her faded into darkness. 

* 

Adora woke up to the brightest light she had ever seen.

She turned her head slightly to the left, a heart monitor and another bed at her side. She slowly opened her eyes, focusing on the lightbulb instead of the beeping monitors. She sat up, wiping her eyes of all tiredness. 

“Adora!” 

She saw Catra sitting on a random chair, and when she saw the I.V., she finally realized that she was in the medbay. She hadn’t been in the medbay for her own injuries for a  _ long  _ time. She briefly pondered what had happened, but all the events slowly made their way back to her.

The battle. Standing against Light Hope’s army again. Fighting thousands of soldiers. Octavia nearly killing her. Reuniting with Catra. Holding Glimmer’s hand as they snapped away Light Hope. Wait a minute…! 

“Glimmer!” Adora shouted, looking around the room frantically. She could hear her heartbeat on the monitor increasing with her panic, but she couldn’t be bothered to care when her eyes landed on the mess of pink hair on the bed next to her. 

A hand was on her chest in an instant, pushing her down to the bed. Netossa was suddenly hovering over her, Catra worried in the back. Netossa scribbled some things on a clipboard, then said, “Well, you might have some chronic pain while you heal. I’m not sure how it all works, considering your metabolism and strength and whatnot. But regardless, take things  _ very  _ easy from here on out.”

“I have no choice,” Adora huffed out. “My sword was destroyed when Light Hope stepped all over it.”   


“Really? When I barely gave it back to you?”

They all turned to see Glimmer sitting upright in her bed. Netossa went over to evaluate her, and Adora looked down at her own body to see her injuries.

She wasn’t in one of those blue hospital gowns. Instead, she laid in a pair of grey sweatpants and a sports bra. She had a bandage that went across her abs. She couldn’t even tell you what that was from. She had a long piece of gauze that was wrapped around her left arm; the one that aided Glimmer when they snapped. She felt across her neck, and found another bandage. Had Octavia fractured something? Probably. 

“Hey, Adora,” Catra greeted. She sat down on the edge of her bed, patting her ankle lightly. “Me and Castaspella have been taking turns coming up and watching you guys when we weren’t harassing Netossa for any updates-”

“Which I did  _ not  _ appreciate,” Netossa bit back. 

“-and you guys finally woke up. There was a chance you weren’t going to. God, I was terrified when they said you were more likely to stay asleep. But I guess even death in your sleep isn’t spectacular enough for Adora Carrero.” 

“When I go, I better at least be making a scene,” Adora joked, but Catra’s laugh didn’t reach her eyes. “But in all seriousness, how long were we out for? Did we ever flatline? Did-”

“Two days,” Netossa answered, setting her clipboard on a table. “After the snap, you both collapsed almost immediately and passed out. Double Trouble, having been the closest, checked your pulses which were  _ very  _ weak. And Catra, being the second closest, pushed Double Trouble and tried carrying the two of you back to the compound. Huntara helped out, and you knocked out for two days with the chance of comatose. Luckily, you guys woke up and that brings us to now.”

Wow. 

“How did you guys get me out of the suit?” Glimmer asked, almost joking. But judging by the edge of her voice, she needed legit answers. “It’s not like I showed anyone how to turn the suit back to the nanotech.”

Netossa shrugged, a small smile on her lips. “Somehow, Frosta knew how to do it.” Glimmer gaped at her, but the woman shrugged and clasped her hands together. “Alright, so I’m going to leave you three alone. I’ll call up the others in a moment.” She smiled at them for a second before going to the door, leaving the three in silence. 

This is the first time they’ve all been in the same room since the Crimson Waste. And the last time  _ that  _ happened, Glimmer started a fight and Adora nearly killed her for Catra. The air might’ve been cleared between almost everyone, but there’s still two people in this room who need to resolve their problems. 

Catra understood, because she moved from her chair to a stool in the middle of the beds. She sat, Glimmer watching her every move. They were in silence again for a beat, no one really knowing what to say. Where is the girl who everyone fought for or against supposed to start? It wasn’t one of those easy conversations, but one that needed to be done. 

“Glimmer…” Catra started, the other girl looking straight at her. “Glimmer, look I-”

“It’s okay.”

“I need to say I’m sorry but I was brainwashed and-”

“I know.” Glimmer smiled. She clutched her good hand to her side as she leaned forward, giving up and instead using the remote to lift the whole bed. When she was completely upright, she smiled softly. “I know that now. You were forced to do the things you did. That was all Hydra, but Catra… You were a victim too. I’m sorry too.”

Catra didn’t speak for a moment, looking to Adora for confirmation that that had really happened. But Adora was just as speechless. It took Glimmer yelling at her and passing out, and then a whole month to pass before they were able to have a civilized conversation about everything. It took them five minutes. 

“I don’t even know what to say…” Catra said, staring at Glimmer.

“How about what you were going to say before I interrupted?” Cheeky little thing. 

“I’m sorry, Glimmer. I told Adora and Entrapta, and it was too big a favor to ask them to keep it a secret. We should’ve come clean even before the airport. Keeping it a secret from a team I wasn’t even a part of was never my place. I got plopped on top of the Accords mess when everyone was already in low spirits, so I should’ve known. I knew Micah. I remember all of my victims. I’m sorry too. We should’ve told you.”

Realistically, it was neither of them.

She’s the one who hid Catra from Glimmer. She’s the one who disagreed about the Accords in the first place. Adam’s death was dropped on her suddenly, and she allowed way too many factors to make her choices. Catra and Glimmer both didn’t deserve to deal with that.

Catra never even asked her to keep it a secret. She’d made the agreement with Entrapta, and they couldn’t come back from it. If they had just realized that talking it out instead of playing into Shadow Weaver’s manipulation could’ve avoided everything… It pisses her off to think about how easily they walked into a trap.

“And I want to say something to you guys.” Adora shifted as much as she could, trying to face the duo. She grunted, and Catra pushed her flat against the headboard. Sitting up would have to do. “I’m sorry for leading you guys into Shadow Weaver’s trap.”

They were both silent for a moment before Glimmer started stifling her giggles. “You apologized for the real stuff in the shotgun of my car. Now, you’re just a self sacrificing idiot. We’re both to blame for that, Carrero.”

Catra joined along in laughing at her. Adora wasn’t even offended. She was just so happy to see them laughing among each other, the air cleared. There will always be a little grey area: that would never go away. It was a permanent mark that will forever be with them. But to see them actually able to be in the same room, no screaming or crying… That’s also something that wouldn’t be leaving anymore.

Plus, she missed being called by her last name. 

Catra opened her mouth to say something, but the door opened with a slam. She saw a rush of blue hair and blue eyes run from the doorway to Glimmer’s hospital bed. Adora couldn’t even see who it was at first, the girl going too fast. But when Glimmer’s eyes started to slightly water as well, she realized who she was finally meeting. 

“Hey, Frosta,” Glimmer greeted, running her fingers through the teen’s hair. 

Frosta laughed, though a hiccup escaped. Adora couldn’t see her face, but when she looked to Catra for any explanation, she shrugged and stood, making her way for Adora’s bed and curling up next to her as they watched the exchange.

“Ms. Fukuhara, I-”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Glimmer laughed, sniffling but not letting any tears fall. “Even before the damn snap, I’ve been telling you to call me Glimmer. What, do I actually have to die for that?”

“Please don’t.”

Glimmer chuckled, glancing at the two girls in the bed next to her. Adora rolled her eyes, sensing the silent question. “Let it out, Glimmer. It’s your kid, anyways.”   


The sight of Glimmer’s mouth gaping at them was hilarious. “She’s not mine, I swear.” But she allowed Frosta to hug her around the waist. She dropped her head to Frosta’s hair, silently sobbing into her. After losing her parents and friends, with only her aunt, Adora couldn’t be happier that her friend found one more person to love. Because that girl can love with all her heart, and it’s truly a beautiful thing.

“Who’s gonna tell her she adopted a child?” Catra whispered to her.

“She’ll figure it out.” Adpra nuzzled into Catra’s neck, and even though that was her fifth near death experience in the past week but this had been the closest and was currently in a hospital bed with machines pumping into her, she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Castaspella was the next to slam the door open, followed by everyone else piling into the room. Her eyes landed on Entrapta, then Bow, then Double Trouble (who was seriously one of the coolest people ever), then to all her allies. All people who had come to her support when she needed it.

“Glimmer!” Castaspella shouted when she saw her niece. Frosta tried backing away, but Castaspella pulled her back and tugged them together into a hug. Entrapta sat at the edge of her bed, Bow rubbing her shoulder in acknowledgement. She teared up at the sheer support she had here, even though she’d never really interacted with Double Trouble. 

She noticed Spinnerella and Netossa holding hands by the doorway, but she apparently wasn’t the only person to notice it. Huntara started laughing, saying, “Hey! I didn’t know you two were a thing!”

Spinnerella smiled. “Before  _ this one  _ died, we were testing the waters. We’ve had some time to talk over the past two days, and we want to try things over again.”

Everyone grinned at them. They deserved it. Even though Perfuma had a far away look in her eyes, probably thinking about Scorpia, she still gave them support in her presence alone. 

“May I ask who the child is?” Sea Hawk asked, almost knocking down Lonnie when he tried to get a closer look.

“Yeah, I’d like to know too,” Mermista said. “I’ve never seen Glimmer like this around any other teenagers.”

“She’s mine!” Glimmer groaned when she realized how it came out. “Wait, no. Not like that.” 

“Yeah, I  _ totally  _ believe that. I wouldn’t be surprised, but another one like you seems like high maintenance.” 

Glimmer rolled her eyes playfully, wiping away her tears to properly speak. “Everyone, meet Frosta. She’s the newest edition to the Princesses.” Frosta gasped, unaware of this herself. “And before I hear any protests, she beat most of your guy’s asses in Germany, so I don’t want to hear it.”

“Mainly mine and Entrapta’s,” Catra joked, Entrapta groaning at the reminder. 

“I forget that you brought an eleven year old to that fight,” Adora said to no one in particular.

“I’m fifteen!” Frosta protested, then laughed when Glimmer started ruffling her hair. The atmosphere was better than any other fight she’d ever been in, which was a lot.

Too many.

“Did you see the way I killed Light Hope the first time around? I mean, she literally died twice. At least we only failed once. Imagine how embarrassing for her?” 

Adora laughed at Mermista, cozying closer to Catra. She didn’t know what was going to happen when she got discharged, but that wasn’t the important thing now.

It might’ve been two months apart, but two months month brought everyone together again.

*

Glimmer’s priorities after getting discharged three days ago from nearly dying because of some magical rocks was to get cheeseburgers with her friends.

Yes, perfect priorities. 

Glimmer drove herself, with Adora in the front seat. She hadn’t been in this car since she gave the She-Ra sword back. The sword that she ended up breaking during the fight, but that’s alright. Not like an hour went into polishing everything with the best polisher money could buy or anything… 

Frosta and Catra sat in the back, Frosta a bit hesitant over everything having to do with the couple. Even though Glimmer never told her about what went down in the Crimson Waste, the teen’s super hearing abilities heard her talking about it with Castaspella over the phone when she went to go pick her up from her hotel.

Glimmer had to explain that the whole situation was way more complicated than Frosta knew, and everyone had made mistakes that day. Considering she was more upset at Adora than Catra when everything had happened and somehow Frosta picked it up, that was the first order of business. It was smooth sailing from there, and Catra showed her metal arm off to the fascinated girl.

But once they got to the actual diner? All hard feelings were thrown out the window. Frosta sat across from Catra and Adora, throwing questions at them like she would never see them again. She was mainly interested in hearing Catra’s side of things rather than She-Ra, but who knows how that girl’s mind works.

“Glad to see them getting along,” Glimmer noted to Adora as their food was served. They were in a little place that apparently existed even back in the forties, and the couple sitting across from her shared a sly smile when they parked in front of the building. A run down overnight diner made them sentimental. They’re weird. 

“Me too,” Adora agreed, biting into her cheeseburger as Frosta watched how Catra ate with her arm. She leaned across the table for a better look, nearly knocking over all the drinks. 

“Being completely honest, I was a bit scared bringing a fangirl to Germany,” Glimmer admitted, chewing her burger. She may not have Adora’s perfect abs after eating anything she wanted, but a good burger isn’t gonna stop that. “I didn’t know if she was going to want to switch teams when she saw you.”

Frosta, who all of a sudden started paying attention, gasped at the claims. “I would never do that to you!” She sipped her chocolate milkshake in retaliation. “I’d fight for Iron Lady any day!” 

“Funny thing you mention that…” Glimmer wrung her hands together. 

Over the course of the five days she spent hospitalized with Adora (plus Catra and Frosta, considering how often they were there), plus the three being discharged, she’d had a lot of time to think.

To think about what she was going to do with the future looming over her. With the world watching what Glimmer Fukuhara, Iron Lady, was going to do next.

Since she owned S.H.I.E.L.D., she had control over who owned it after her. She hadn’t been able to deal with it for the year that she had it. It had been a death gift, essentially. She always felt like it wasn’t for her. A superhero wasn’t meant to have an organization of this kind. There was someone else for that. 

So, she did the obvious thing. 

She gave it to Castaspella.

Her aunt deserved it more than anyone. She would take it over for her sister, and form it into her own. Adora was there when Glimmer told Castaspella, and they watched the older woman accept it with gratitude and a thankfulness that couldn’t be replicated. 

S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn’t hers anymore. Yet, Glimmer knew she had more to her than just Iron Lady. She wasn’t going to keep fighting everyday, and she had to give up the suit someday. Maybe even pass it along, which was what she had been contemplating for the past eight days. 

“I don’t think I’m going to be Iron Lady anymore,” Glimmer announced.

Everyone stared at her in stunned silence for a  _ long  _ pause. She had been expecting this type of reaction from everyone, being honest. No one had given up the mantle yet. She almost laughed if she wasn’t so anxious for a response. 

Finally, Adora’s face lit up with a grin. “Glimmer, I am so happy for you!” 

Catra smiled at her too, winking as she said, “She saw life without us and decided it was better.”

The table laughed, except for Frosta. When she turned to the girl, she had her eyebrows furrowed and hands clenched around her milkshake glass. It was  _ very  _ different from the energetic ball of fire that was talking a hundred miles an hour. 

“What’s wrong, kid?” Glimmer asked.

“Where are you going?” Frosta bit her lip, nervous to ask her question. “Are you leaving anywhere?” The real question was hidden, but she understood immediately.

_ Are you going to leave me? _

“I was just going into my plan.” Glimmer unclasped her hands, digging back into her fries. “I’mma develop everything in my lab at the compound, but I was going to make new tech for the countries and neighborhoods that need it. A single mother just fired? I’ll get a new car to her. A hospital that’s running on broken machinery? I’ll build new ones for them. That type of deal, you feel me?”

Adora stared at her like she hung the stars, which was very different from Frosta’s tiny frown. “That’s  _ amazing,  _ Glimmer. You deserve retirement more than anyone. I’m happy to hear that you’ll still be in the area. We all want to be able to keep you close.” Her eyes drifted to the upset girl, who drank out of her milkshake with a blank expression. 

She knows exactly what will cheer her up.

Glimmer bumped her shoulder. “I got an extra surprise for you.”   


Frosta barely perked up, practically shoving her cheeseburger into her mouth. “I’m listening.”

“Every Tuesday and Thursday, I want you to make your ice bridge or whatever and head to the compound. I want to give you some lessons on how to be the best superhero out there. I also want to see you beat up Bow one day, but that’s besides the point. You’re going to need these lessons if you’re going to become the next Iron Lady.”

She could hear the air leave Frosta.

Well, not even Frosta. Adora stopped chewing her burger, Catra pausing all movement with a fry halfway to her mouth. She laughed at the reactions that were even more shocked than her retirement plans. She stifled her laugher at Frosta’s face by tossing fries into her mouth, waiting for her protege to answer.

And hopefully accept. 

“HUH?” 

Glimmer chuckled, but started to explain again. “Everyone needs protecting, and you’re a Princess now. You don’t have to share your identity or anything, but you can’t really go back to being a friendly neighborhood Frost-Girl. You can still be Frost-Girl, don’t get me wrong. But someone needs to take over for me, so I thought… I mean, only if you accept though. You don’t have to or anything, but…” 

She trailed off, allowing the words to settle. Adora smiled at Catra, the two of them having one of their silent conversations. Everyone hated when they did that, but they were the best at having them. They turned back to the scene to see Frosta unsure of what to do.

Finally, she chucked herself into Glimmer’s chest to give her a hug. 

Glimmer snickered. “Is this a yes?”

“Yes!” Frosta untangled herself from the hug, looking up at her with the brightest and happiest eyes she’s ever seen the girl have. Even in that year before the snap, nothing compared to this moment. 

“I just have one condition.  _ Please  _ change your name from Frost-Girl if you’re keeping the secret identity. Your name is Frosta. It’s not going to take long for people to make the connection if they dig a little deeper. And since you just fought a battle alongside She-Ra and other household names, someone’s bound to go digging.”

Frosta nodded, not a single complaint. “I was debating on Subzero before I decided on Frost-Girl. Maybe I’ll finally get to use that name.”

“That’s a pretty sick name,” Catra commented, her plate empty when she popped the last bite of her burger into her mouth. “You must get cool names from your mom.”

Glimmer didn’t deny it this time, instead shrugging when Frosta turned to her with a look that said,  _ Can you believe this girl?  _ See, Catra and Adora weren’t the only ones who could have silent conversations! 

“I’m really taking over for Iron Lady,” Frosta whispered to herself. Then, she turned to face the couple who were eating through the last of their dinner. Damn, they ate  _ fast.  _ “What are you guys going to do?”

They both seemed caught off guard by the question, but Adora was the first to regain her wits. “We’ve talked about it here and there, but we’re still deciding. I think we’ll know after the fireworks tonight.” She smiled down at her shoes, and even Catra seemed weirded out by that.

“What?” Catra asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Oh, nothing. Nothing. How about we focus on Subzero instead? I think she’s pretty neat.”

“You are so  _ strange-” _

“Adora, you have  _ got  _ to chase that life you’ve always wanted!” Glimmer cut in, saving Adora from unnecessary explaining. They’d know what she meant after the fireworks. “You deserve it just as much as I do.”

“I’m not even hungry anymore,” Frosta announced, not realizing she cut off the casual banter. “Can we take it to go?”

Catra slid out of the booth to grab a box from the counter, bringing it back to the table. They made their way to the car, but Glimmer blocked Adora’s path. “You go in the back this time. I’d like a word with my apprentice before shipping her off with her aunt.”

Adora didn’t complain, moving to sit in the backseat with Catra. “As long as you put the soundproof visor up, we’re good.”

Glimmer crinkled her nose as they slid in the car. “Calm yourselves, you old fossils. There’s children around. You may have the hearts of the nation, but you'll be dead to me if I see anything in the seats.” 

Nonetheless, she lifted the visor. She put the car in self drive so she could focus all her attention on the girl sitting in the passenger seat. 

“I’ll drop you off tomorrow, but Entrapta’s really good at making fireworks and she’s got a cool show set up for us tonight. I decided to keep you until then.” She opened her mouth, but Glimmer cut her off when she already knew the question. “Yes, I’ve called Razz and updated her on everything. You’re free to come.” 

Frosta smiled. It’s what she does best.

She noticed the expecting eyes, clearing her throat. She never was very good with having heart to hearts if it wasn’t someone’s funeral, but now seems as good a time as ever to start trying to gain a little skill in that area.

“I don’t think there’s anyone else I would want to be in my place,” Glimmer admitted. “You’ve always been a hero, freezing criminals with nothing but a onesie and powers you had no training with. You’ve always been the best of all of us. Maybe we’ve always needed someone with your kind of heart around us. When tabloids start asking me who’s taking over for me, I’ll be more than happy to announce Subzero.”

Frosta had a grin that was even brighter than the one in the diner, if that was possible. “I’m just a teenager and I’m fighting with the Princesses. It sucks because no one can know, but I don’t think I’ll even mind.”

True, she was just a teenager. Everyone looks at Glimmer like she was crazy to recruit a fifteen year old for Germany (who was fourteen at the time). She’d even taken back the suit she made because she realized that the responsibility  _ could  _ be a bit much. But this girl was one of the bravest people she’s ever met, and damn it if she wasn’t going to help people even without a high tech suit.

Glimmer realized that there was no stopping this kid. She'd rather protect her then leave her in a onesie. When Light Hope snapped and took everything, she thought she wasn’t going to recover. She’s sure she bored Bow with the stories of Frost-Girl, and their missions that they went on together occasionally. But everyone deserved to hear how great Frosta is. 

“I just really want to tell you I’m proud of you,” Glimmer said a little quieter. “I’m not good at expressing my emotions very well. Last time I did, I went feral on my best friend, and she threw it right back at me. So if I ever get weird and kinda distant, know I’m just trying to find the right words to say I’m proud a thousand times over.”

Frosta looked at the stick shift move by itself before answering with, “When I lost my parents, I didn’t think I’d ever have anyone else by my side. Especially when Aunt Razz’s wife died, and I thought I was on my own. But I guess now I have a whole team to back me up.”

“You had Catra chatting the whole time in the backseat earlier. I’m sure spending time around everyone else will have the same effect.”

“Like Sea Hawk?” Frosta’s eyes shone with admiration, either for Glimmer or Sea Hawk. “I want to know more about his shrinking tech. It’s  _ so  _ cool! I  _ need  _ to know more about it. We’re the sea and ice, you know? I’m basically water. We relate, you know?”

“Mermista is also water.”

“Yeah, but she’s kind of scary.”

Glimmer laughed. “Not any more scary than a mutant teenage girl who can shoot ice out of her hands. Plus that enhanced hearing is a  _ nightmare.  _ I’m on the phone with my aunt one day, and suddenly you know the top secret information that is very classified and never ended up being public knowledge.” 

Frosta stuck out her tongue. “Not my fault you talk down the hall from my room! Besides, I was able to sneak on board with you on that spaceship and go to space with my ‘mutant’ powers.”

Her eyes landed on the eyebrow slit Frosta sported after everything. “If I had known you were going to touch that coat hanger, I would’ve ejected you from the tin can myself.”

“It was a  _ damaged rotor!  _ I wasn’t about to have us crash in the middle of space because we couldn’t land properly.

“You amaze me, seriously. Bow knew how to fix it, and now look at you. Your eyebrows are all messed up.” 

Frosta pointed to the many cuts on Glimmer’s face. “We’re matching though!”

She touched a hand to her eyebrow, where she didn’t have a slit, but a bandaid ran vertically on the left one. If it made the kid think they were matching, then she’d go along with it. “Yeah, I can’t even imagine where I got this one from. Maybe the fight that happened after we used the time travel GPS that I created? Did Light Hope track us using our own tech before or after Double Trouble got captured? Was this happening when I became a hermit so I could make new gadgets to bring you back?” 

Frosta’s mouth fell open. “For me?” She whispered so quietly she barely heard it. 

Glimmer nodded. “For you.” She sucked in a breath. She’s had her mom, her aunt, Adora… They’ve always looked after  _ her.  _ Sure, creating new suits and giving the Princesses all she could so they’d be protected was her way of showing she cared. But she finally has someone to look after, to take care of, to treat as her own. 

To love as her own.

“I am so proud of you,” Glimmer whispered again. “Even if you aren’t technically  _ mine,  _ and you already have a mother figure in your life, I don’t have any other children running around in my suits. I think that means something.” 

The car stopped in front of the Princess compound. Catra and Adora hopped out the car, hand in hand as the sun began setting. It’d be night soon, so Entrapta’s firework show would be starting soon. Another magical event happening among others. She knew Adora’s plan for tonight, and was more than excited to hear about how it went.

But right now, she was pulled into a moment when she tugged Frosta into a hug. Even if the console was digging into a cut on her side, she wasn’t letting go of her anytime soon.

“You’re not just getting the door this time?” Frosta whispered, soft sniffles coming from the girl. 

Glimmer laughed, trying not to break down in tears herself. Did teenagers always make retired superheroes cry this much? “No, this is a real hug.” 

With Frosta in her arms and the rest of her friends in her building under her protection, Glimmer knows she’s finally done the right thing. 

*

“Hey, Adora.”

Adora turned her head to see Catra standing in the doorway, her arms crossed.

“Hey, Catra.” She was leaning against her balcony in her room. After they got to the compound, Entrapta’s firework show started. She had retreated to her room to draw Catra over, and it worked, luckily. The night sky was illuminated by the fireworks, and the two girls now stood next to each other. 

“What are you doing up here?” Adora asked. She knew that Catra wouldn’t want to watch the fireworks without her, even if it was away from the team. So far, everything was going to plan. 

“Looking for you, dummy.” Catra leaned against the railing, the door having closed behind her. It was just them two, alone in their little world. “Why aren’t you with everyone else?”

She shrugged, pretending like she didn’t have a reason. “I don’t know. Thinking.”

“About what?”

Another shrug. “That life Glimmer told me I deserved. I’ve been chasing it for so long, and when I think I finally have it, it’s snatched by another villain. Now that we have peace and we don’t have to run anymore, I don’t know what I want to do.”

Catra leaned her head onto her shoulder. “No matter what you want to do, I’ll be with you every step of the way. There is no end of the line when it comes to us.”

“I’d hope not.” Her mind flashed briefly to Perfuma and Scorpia. “Especially since one of us always comes back from the dead to bug the other.

“You mean I only annoyed you when I went berserk inside of a S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters?” Catra fake gasped. “That’s news to me.”

“Oh, shut up..” Adora rolled her eyes, her hand drifting for the pocket in her red jacket. “Speaking of S.H.I.E.L.D., since Castaspella owns it now, there’s a lot that’s going to change.

“Can we talk about Mermista’s personality change? I mean, I’ve never really talked to her, but when she came in with her eyes glowing and stuff, I assumed she was super cool and everything. But now she’s taking Sea Hawk into space with her as they help the planets already affected by Light Hope. It’s sweet.”

“I wonder how he’s gonna do up there… Hopefully Huntara and Double Trouble fare better.”

“Oh, I am already looking forward to the monthly meetings because of them!” Catra clapped her hands to show her excitement. “Them two versus Spinnerella and Netossa to see who can aid the most people? That’s gonna be wild.” 

“Nothing like friendly competition to get you going. Then again, Huntara and Double Trouble have an advantage. They’ve both been in space for at least a year now. It won’t be hard for them to deliver Glimmer’s tech to suffering planets and help everyone out. Netossa has been back on Earth for about a month. They’ll be-”

“Defeated?” Catra interrupted. “But who knows? Agh, the agony is  _ killing  _ me.” 

“You are the most invested in this,” Adora joked. “Probably more than them.”

“Nah, did you see Entrapta? She’s just as excited.”

“Well, she’ll be more than busy these next couple months. Or days… I don’t know. The whole time travel thing is confusing.”

“So while her and Bow take up as much time as they need to put the Runestones, that you guys took, back in their respective place, it’ll only be around five seconds for us?”

That's definitely the confusing part. “They could take months, even a year if they need it, but be back in five seconds in our time.”

Catra blinked. “I’m not even gonna think about it. Good for them, though. They’re the ones dealing with the super complicated time travel, not us.” 

“Don’t forget Perfuma’s also doing some of the complicated stuff.”

“I feel terrible for her,” Catra admitted. “I get why she wants to go back to Mystacore with Lonnie, though. They could get rid of her powers, and I understand why she wants to do it.”

“If only they could remove mine…” 

She didn’t mean for it to come out that way, and when Catra’s sad eyes looked at her, she realized she needed to fix her wording. “Not like that. I mean, people see Adora and think She-Ra. I don’t even have the sword anymore! It sucks.” 

“Do you want to keep being She-Ra?” Catra asked. “Like… If you still had the sword, would you jump back into the fight?”

“That’s the thing, Catra. There is no more fight. We’re done fighting other people’s wars.”

As if she was just realizing it for the first time, Catra broke into a huge grin. Her smile drowned out the sound of the booming fireworks. “How did I just realize that?"

“I don’t know,  _ dummy.”  _ Adora knocked her over the head slightly, her girlfriend laughing as she rubbed out the spot. “Even if there was, nothing really bad can happen because we have each other.”

“That’s a pretty big promise, Adora. Sure you can keep it?”

“I can keep it if we retire.”

Catra’s eyes softened. “You want to retire?”

“Of course I do.” She pressed her forehead against Catra’s. “With you.”

But Catra, being the Catra she is, hit her in the side (where no injuries lay). “Well, why didn’t you say so? We’ve been talking about other people for the past five minutes! What about us?” 

Adora hummed, faking her thinking. “What  _ about  _ us? Let’s see… We can move into a studio apartment, but that’s only for a mid-life crisis. There’s always the compound, but  _ everyone’s  _ gonna be staying here, so I’d rather have somewhere a little more… us.”   


“Half the universe just came back. I don’t think there’s that many options.”

“There is one…” 

Catra raised her eyebrow, so Adora took it as her cue to continue. “I had Glimmer pass by your old apartment when we were on our way to the diner. You know, the one from all that time ago. It was for sale, and I was thinking…” 

Her mouth fell open. “We could move back into our old home?” 

_ Our  _ old home. Adora’s heart fluttered. “Yeah, we can move back in.”

Catra whooped so loud that Double Trouble, sitting on the ground and  _ away  _ from the balcony looked up at them. She reigned it in, pecking her lips before saying, “Sorry, that’s just some of the best news I’ve heard.”

“Won’t it be great to live there again?” Adora’s hand wrapped around the object in her pocket, pressing her side into the railing to hide it from view. “We can move in together without fear of someone bursting into our home and arresting us.”

“It wasn’t done back then. People whispered so much about us. I mean, they  _ definitely  _ knew we were fucking-”

“Catra!”   


“-but never said anything because they were scared of us. We literally shared a bed every night and probably rocked that headboard into the neighbor’s wall more times than legal. But we’re somewhere safe now, and I can rock you into that headboard anytime and not get arrested.”

“I’m sure that falls under disturbing the peace.” 

“They can deal with it!” 

Adora laughed, throwing her head back. She was careful to keep her arm to her side, taking a deep breath before starting. “Our friends won’t stare at us funny when we hold hands and kiss. We don’t have to be afraid of being in love anymore. We can…” She fished the wooden ring box out of her pocket, holding out the thin box she had Glimmer make for her. “We can even get married.” 

Catra’s eyes widened, her hands flying to her mouth as her eyes watered. “Adora…” 

Adora dropped to her knee, opening the box to reveal the ring (that Glimmer made, of course). It wasn’t anything super fancy; a braided band with the diamond stone in the center. But for them, who used to think that getting married would never be a possibility and they’d have to grow old together in secret, it was enough. 

It was more than enough. 

“Hey, Catra,” she greeted from her place on the ground. She didn’t even realize she was crying until she felt her cheeks wet, Catra’s own tears falling down her face. 

“Adora..” Catra repeated, moving her hands from her face to run her fingers through her hair. 

“Catra, I’ve been in love with you since I was fifteen. I never thought we’d ever be here. But we are now. We can hang up the uniforms, stop fighting the ongoing battle. We can finally go to the diner and get coffee at four am  _ and  _ show off our rings.” Catra laughed at that, so Adora kept going. “I love you,  _ so much.  _ We’re sticking together anyways so… Catra, will you marry me?”

Without wasting a second, Catra leapt forward and tackled her into a kiss. She fell from her knee, and they both fell to the balcony floor. Adora barely had time to take the ring out of the box before it went flying. 

She slipped it onto Catra’s finger, and she just about sobbed as she saw her beautiful girlfriend (fiancee!) sporting the ring. It was a sight she’d keep with her until the end of the line.

“Okay, get off me you prick.” Adora shoved Catra off of her, and they sat beside each other on the wooden floor as the fireworks continued to explode. 

“You put the damn ring on my finger, Adora. I think you’re stuck with me.” 

“Oh, what a nightmare.” 

Adora laced her fingers with Catra’s, the cool band against her hand. A feeling that made her heart thump louder than it’s ever thumped. Her lips tingled as Catra kissed her, their tears falling as the night slowed down to just them two. 

“We’re sticking together,” Catra mumbled. “It’s a promise.”

“It’s  _ here, _ ” Adora whispered. “The promise is now. We can rest now. How many times am I going to have to repeat it?”

“Repeat it until the end of time. I like to be reminded.”

A song that once played in Adora’s apartment a November evening a long time ago rang in her ears as Glimmer played it on a speaker. That was the first night that Adora saw Catra, even if she didn’t know it was her. That had been the beginning, and they weren’t reaching the end for a long, long time. 

_ Kiss me once _

_ And kiss me twice  _

_ Then kiss me once again  _

_ It's been a long, long time _

“I love you,” Adora whispered.

“And I love you.”

They were Catra and Adora, and they had a long, long time to rest and finally have their happy ending. 

They were no longer She-Ra and the Horde Soldier.

They were home. 

**Author's Note:**

> PARTING WORDS 
> 
> I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t emotional. Plus, with the end of the actual show today… I won’t lie and say I’m not shedding some tears (over the series finale and the end of the Princess Universe)
> 
> I’ve been writing this for a year now, so to finally let go of my baby is a little bittersweet, not gonna lie. But after a year, we’re finally at the end, and Catra, Adora, and Glimmer’s story have made it to the end of the line. Literally, too, since the show ended today. 
> 
> I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported this crazy series. When I started, it was gonna be nothing more than the winter soldier. But, I kept going with civil war, and still didn’t stop there. I continued with random drabbles here and there, but it ended up with a year worth of writing them. I just hope I ended this crazy year with justice. This story is as much yours as it is mine. 
> 
> To the people who have left kudos on all 8 parts of this thing and have stayed with me till the end of the line, promising nothing bad can happen as long as we’re together, I love you. Seriously, it means so much to get spammed by kudos that’s on every part of the series. From the bottom of my heart since we’ve been here a year now… 
> 
> Thank you. I’m with you all till the end of the line.


End file.
